Anchor for air-ships.



PATENTED JULY 24, 1906.

D. THOMAS. ANCHOR FOR AIR SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED .TUNEL 1905.

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DAVID THOMAS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ANCHOR' Fon AmisHlPs.

Specification of Letters latent.

I Patented Ju1y24, 1906.

Application filed June 1, 1905. Serial No. 283,299.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of i l s lar in cross-section and may be of any desired length.The said body is closed at its upper portion by a cap-piece 10, in whichan the city of San Francisco, in the county of aperture 11 is produced,and just below the San Francisco and State of California, have inventeda new and Improved Anchor for Air-Ships, of which the following is afull,

clear, and exact description.

The purpose of my invention is -to provide' an automatic harpoon-anchorespecially adapted for use in connection with buoyant vessels to effecta landing at a given point safely, quickly, and accurately and to soconstruct the harpoon-anchor that when it has entered the ground apredetermined depth lclaws will be forced out from opposite sides oftheanchor into the ground, preventing the anchor being withdrawn ordislodged until the said claws have been purposely drawn in.

Another purpose of the invention is to rovide means Jfor preventing theclaws ta ing their outer locking position until the proper time and toprovide an anchor-rope attached to the anchor and to the windlass of thevessel, so that after the anchor has been driven .into the ground andsecured by operating the Windlass thelvessel can be drawn down to theanchor. J 4

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin theA claims. Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar characters ofreference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

Figure 1 is' a perspective view of the anchor, the ro e, and thewindlass. Fig. 2 is aV longitudina section throu h the anchor, drawn onan enlarged ysca e, showing the parts in their normal position or theposition they occupy when the anchor is thrown and before it is fullydriven home. Fig. 3 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 2, butillustrates the position of the parts when the anchor has fully enteredthe ground and when the retaining-claws are in action; and Fig. 4 is alongitudinal section taken at ri ht angles to the sectionsshown in Figs.2 an 3, the parts of the anchor being in their normal position.

The body A of the anchor is oi box-like construction, being hollow, andis rectangusaid cap-piece 10 in opposing sides of the body longitudinalopenings 12 and 12a are made. ,In the openings 12 and 12a a crossbar 13is loosely mounted, being adapted to slide in the said openings, and thesaid crossbar is provided with guide extensions 13a at its extremities,as is shownin Fig. 1', which prevents the cross-bar from leaving itsproper position relative to the body A, and, further, an aperture 14 ismade in the said sliding cross-bar 13 practically in longitudinalalinement with the aperture 11 in the A pyramidal point 15 is pro ca.-piece 10.

vi ed for the said body A at its lower end, and this point has' a socketextension 16, which is carried by and. fits into the bottom portion ofthe body A, as is best shown in Fig. 4. In the same sides of the body Ain Whichthe upper openings 12 and 12a are made ports 17 and 18 areproduced near the lower or pointed end of the body, as is shown in Figs.2 and 3. These ports 17 and 18 are in transverse alinement; ut the porton one side is horizontally in advance of the port on the opposite side.The upper walls a of these ports 17 and 18 are curved from the insidedownwardly .and outwardly, and the lower walls a of the said ports aregiven a downward bevel in the same direction, as is shown also in Figs.2 and 3. A rod 19 is loosely passed into the said body through thecapopening 11 and the cross-bar opening 14, and at the lower end of thesaid rod 19 two prongs or spurs 2O and 21 are pivotally connected by asuitable pin 21a. The said spurs rest one upon the other, are tapering,and are curved at their outer longitudinal edges, being concaved andtheir inner longitudinal edges conveXed. Normally the said prongs orspurs 20 and 21 are contained Wholly within the body A, as is-shown inFig. 2, and their lower concaved edges have bearing against the curvedwalls a of the said ports 17 and 18, as is illustrated in Fig. 2. Theseprongs or spurs 2() and 21 are held in the above-mentioned position bymeans of a combined check and guide block 22, whose upper faces, whichare in engagement with the ower portions of the spurs or prongs 20 and21, are beveled downwardly in opposite directions from a IOO is forcecentral oint, so that when the rod or bar 19 E downward the inclinedupper faces ofthe block 22 direct the prongs or spurs 20 and 21 outthrough the ports 17and 18, causing them to assume the outersubstantially horizontal position shown in Figf, which is their workingposition. The combined check and guide block 22 is held up to its workby means of a spring 23 of suitable tension, which is made to enter achamber' in the bottom portion of the guide-block, as is shown in Fig.4, andto enter alsothe socket eXtension from the point 15. i j

It may be here remarked that the body A of the anchor is preferably madeof iron, while its oint 15, the spurs or prongs and 21, and 'ghe rod 19are preferably made of hardened steel.

A rope 24is secured, by means of an eyebolt 25 or its equivalent, to theunder face of the sliding cross-bar'13, and this ro e 24 is carriedaround affliction-pulley or ro ler 26,

K[20 and 21 in their inner norma located within the body A at a 4pointjust above the prongs 20 and 21 when in their normal position, and thesaid rope 24 is also attached to the rod 19 at a point about centrallyof the length of the bar, as is shown at 27 in the drawings. Ananchor-rope 28 is secured at one end by means of an eyebolt 25 or thelike to the up er end of the body' A, and the other end of thisanchor-rope is attached toa windlass B of any approved yconstruction,which windlass is located in the vessel su plied with the improvedanchor.

n operation when the vessel is, say, from three to ive hundred feet ofthe ground, the anchor is thrown overboard and directed toward thesurface of the ground, sufficient slack being provided for the rope 28.The anchor upon striking the round will enter it, and the block 22 willhol the pron s or spurs position (shown in'Fig. 2) until the anchorshall have penetrated into ythe ground suiciently to ca use the slidincross-bar 13 to engage with the surface of t e ground and be carried up`to a contact with the cap-piece 10 vof the body, as shown in Fig. 3,whereupon the slid- `ing cross-bar will draw upward on the rope 24 andthus carry the rod or bar 19 downward, causing the rongs or spurs 20 and21 to pass out throug the ports 17 and 18 and enterfthe ground at eachside of the body, as is shown in Figs. 3 thus securing the anchor firmlyinposition. After the anchor has thus been-secured-.the vessel maybedrawn down to the anchorage by winding the slack of the rope 28 upon thewindlass B. When it is desired to raiselthe anchor, it is simplynecessary to remove enough earth to allow the crossv1ar 13 to. slidedown to its normal position, whereupon by means of a cord attached tolthe rod 19, which shouldhave an eye in the top for this-pur ose, theoccupant of the vesse may draw tige rod upward, thus bringing the prongsor s urs 2O and 21 within the body A, and as t e vessel ascends it willdraw the body of the anchor out from the ground, and it can then bereadily taken inboard or otherwise properly housed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent* 1. An anchor comprising a tubular body pointed at oneend, a cross-bar having sliding movement in the body, said cross-barbeing located adjacent to the upper portion of the body,pivotally-connected-prongs mounted for sliding movement in the body, thesaid body being provided with ports for'the outward movement of theprongs, and means for controlling the outward movement of the prongs bythe action ofthe sliding cross-bar.

2. An anchor, consisting of a tubular body provided with a point at oneend, a crossbar having sliding movement in the 7upper portion of thesaid body, the body-being provided with opposing orts adjacent -to itspoint, a rod having sliding movement inthe ody, oppositely-curvedconnected with the rod, the located at the said ports and adapted in thelower position ofthe rod to pass out through the ports, and a,connection between the crossbar and the said rod, whereby to force theprongs outward when the said cross-bar is raised.

3. An anchor, consisting of a tubular'body rovided with a point at oneend, a cross-bar aving sliding movement in the upper v'portion of thesaid body, the body being provided with opposing ports adjacent -to itspoint, a rod having sliding-movement in the body, oppositely-curvedprongs ypivotally connected with the rod,'the said prongs being locatedat the said ports and adapted in the prongs pivotally .lower position ofthe rod to pass out through the ports, a connection between thecrossbarand the said rod, whereby to fforce the prongs outward when thesaidcross-bar is raised, a tension-controlled combined check and guideblock in engagementwith thelower portions of the said prongs, whichcombined check and guide block serves to normally hold the prongs withinthe body and to direct their movement toward the said orts.

4. An anchor, comprising a tu a cross-bar mounted'to slide at theupperport tion of the body, a rod having sliding vmove- 'ment in thesaid body,

which body is provided with opposing ports in transverse alinement,butcone horizontally in advanee of the other, prongs longitudinally taering and ,having an outward curvature, wliich pron flieone on the otherand are pivoted to the lgwer end 'of the` said bar, a connection betweenthe said rod and the cross-bar, whereby the `rod is lowered as thecross-baris raised, and 'a sprin controlled combined check and guidebloi located within the said body at said ports,

ular body,

said prongs'being IOO IIO

the said block having its upper face which engages with the prongsbeveled from its Vcenter outwardly in opposite directions.

chor, prongs adapte to be normally locatedv in the body, and means forforcing the said prongs out throu h said ports by the upward movement othe cross-bar, a windlass adapted to be locatd within the vessel towhich `the anchor is applied, and an anchorrope attached to the windlassand to the said bo y.

6. In aerial vessels, a windlass located within the vessel, an anchorprovided with ports and interiorly-located spurs, and means or forcingthe said spurs out throu h the said ports when the anchor is embed ed inthe ground, and a flexible connection between the windlass and theanchor, whereby when the anchor is secured in the ground the vessel maybe drawn down to the anchorage by operating the said windlass.

7. A ldevice of the class described, comprising a stock for driving intothe ground, anchor members for protrusion laterally from said stock, andmeans applied longitudinally of said stock and away from the same forcausing protrusion of said anchor members.

8.- A device of class described, comprising a stock for driving into theground, and provided with transverse apertures, anchor members mountedfor lateral protrusion through said apertures, and means operatinglongitudinally of said stock and away from same for causingthe action ofsaid anchor members. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID THOMAS.

Witnesses:

GUsTAvE SONNENBURG, ANGUsT WEnvrANN

